Roofing-cleat



J. R. MCCORD, JR.

ROOFING CLEAT APPLICATION FILED AUG.12{19I9.

Patented Mar; 2, 1920.

JAMES R. MOCORD, JR., OF ST. LOUIS, MISSOURI.

ROOFING-CLEAR Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Mar. 2, 1920.

Application filed August 12, 1919. Serial No. 317,087.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, JAMES R. MoCoRo, J r., a citizen of the United States, residing at St. Louis, Missouri, have invented a certain new and useful Improvement in Roofing- Oleats, of which the following is a full, clear, and exact description, such as will enable others skilled in the art to which it appertains to make and use the same.

This invention relates to roof coveringsk of the kind that are composed of sheets or strips of roofing material arranged so that the edge portion of one sheet or layer of of roofingmaterial in position and which enables roofing materialto be applied more quickly than is possible when nails and cement are used, as is now the universal custom.

Another object is to provide a roofing cleat that is equipped with integral fasten ing devices which are so constructed that they will automatically clench themselves in the wooden supporting structure of the roof during the operation of applying the cleat.

And still another object is to provide a roofing. cleat that is equipped with a double row of fastening devices which extend longitudinally of the edge portion of the strip of roofing material to which the cleat is ap lied.

0 this end I have devised a novel roofing cleat which consistsof a strip of metal provided with integral fastening devices and provided at one of its longitudinal edges with a downwardly turned portion or flange that laps over and seals the edge of the layer of roofing material on which the cleat is superimposed. Said fastening de- Vices may be of any preferred form, but they preferably consist of triangular shaped prongs that are bifurcated or split longitudinally so that they will deflect from a straight line or spread laterally when they are driven into the wooden supporting structure of the roof, and thus automatically clench themselves in the wood.

Figure 1 of the drawings is a perspective view, illustrating a roof covering constructed in accordance with my invention.

Fig. 2 is an enlarged sectional view, taken on the line 22 of Fig. 1; and

Fig. 3 is a perspective view of my improved roofing cleat.

Referring to the drawings which illustrate the preferred form of my invention, A designates strips or layers of roofing material that are arranged longitudinally of a roof so that the lower edge portion of each of said strips laps over the upper edge portion of an adjacent strip. The strips or layers of roofing material A are secured to the wooden supporting structure 1 of the roof by roofing cleats B that are arranged longitudinally of said strips upon the lower ed portion or lap of each of said strips.

' ach of the cleats B consists of a strip of metal of any preferred width and length provided at its lower edge with a downwardly turned portion or flange 2 that laps over the lower edge of the strip of roofing material A on which the cleat is superimposed and sinks into or presses down onto the adjacent layer or strip of roofing material. Thesealing'portion 2 of my improved cleat performs two functions. It prevents rain from beating under the lap of the layer of roofing material on which the cleat is superimposed and it prevents wind from blowing under said lap and thus get ting a sufficient hold on the roofing material to tear it off the roof. In addition to the sealing portion 2 the cleat is provided with integral fastening devices 3 consisting of prongs, preferably of triangular shape in cross section, thatare bifurcated or split longitudinally at 4, as shown in Fig. 3, so as to tend to cause one or both portions of each prong to deflect or bend laterally slightly when the prong is driven into the wooden supporting structure 1 of the roof, thereby causing the fastening devices of the cleat to be clenched automatically during the operation of applying the cleat. The particular form of the fastening devices of the cleat is immaterial, however, so far as my broad idea is concerned, and the particular arrangement of said fastening devices on the cleat is also immaterial. I prefer, however, to provide each cleat with two rows of spaced fastening devices 3 arranged in staggered relation so that each strip A of roofing material will be secured by two rows of fastening devices that extend longitudinally of the strip.

A roof covering of the construction above described is superior to a roof covering composed of strips of roofing material that are cemented together and secured to the supporting structure of the roof by nails, due to the fact that the cleats B prevent the edge portion of the lap of each strip of roofing material from fraying and they also sealsaid lap so effectively that it is impossible for rain to beat under same or wind to get a suflicient hold on the strip to tear it off the roof. Furthermore, a roof covering of the construction above described can be applied more quickly than is possible when the layers of roofing material are cemented together and secured to the roof by nails and it is secured to the supporting structure of the roof more firmly, due to the fact that the cleats B are provided with double rows of fastening devices, many of which are clenched in the wooden supporting structure of the roof.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is:

1. A roofing cleat, consisting of a strip of sheet metal provided on one of its longitudinal edges with a downwardly bent portion that laps over the exposed edge of the roofing material, and integral, sharp pointed prongs projecting downwardly from said strip at approximately right angles to the underside of same and constructed to be driven through the roofing material and into the supporting structure of the roof for securing the roofing material in position.

2. A roofing cleat, consisting of a narrow strip of sheet metal provided at numerous points throughout its length with integral, sharp pointed prongs intermediate the side edges of same and each of said prongs projecting at substantially right angles to the underside of the strip, and constructed to penetrate the roofing and the sheathing.

3. A roofing cleat, consisting of a strip of sheet metal provided at one of its longitudinal edges with a downwardly bent portion for the purpose described, and two sets of integral, sharp pointed prongs projecting downwardly from said strip at approximately right angles to same and arranged so that the prongs of each set are in longi.

tudinal alinement with each other but in staggered relation to the prongs of the other set, and constructed to penetrate the roofing and the sheathing.

4. A roofing cleat provided with an integral prong for securing said cleat in op- 

